The Rise and Fall of the Walmart Yodeling Boy

Mason+Ramsey+poses+at+Coachella+for+his+maiden+performance.

Trapped Magazine

Mason Ramsey poses at Coachella for his maiden performance.

On March 24, a video was posted of a young boy belting his heart out, yodeling his version of country singer Hank Williams’ song, “Lovesick Blues” in the air matress section of a Walmart in Harrisburg, Ill. The 11 year-old boy, Mason Ramsey, from the small town of Golconda went viral in less than a week and has now become the most popular internet meme of the month.

Ramsey’s instagram account blew up in a matter of days, reaching nearly a million followers in a week. Internet users have become obsessed with the young boy who calls himself Lil’ Hank Williams, making a slew of memes and remixes of the original video.

His popularity reached its peak on April 10 when the young country artist performed on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and received a few presents, including a $15,000 scholarship to go to the college of his choice and a chance to perform at the Grand Ole Opry, a major country performing stage in Nashville. Ramsey, who has been yodeling since he was three years old, had mentioned that it was his dream to yodel at the Grand Ole Opry and was thrilled to be presented with the chance.

One day after his appearance on “Ellen,” Ramsey sang at the place where he first went viral, at a concert thrown by Walmart in his honor. This caused his fame to skyrocket and his career to take flight, because soon after, he was invited by popular DJ Whethan to perform at the 2018 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Fans of Lil’ Hank Williams were thrilled to receive a surprise concert from the boy and soon, images of him standing over a crowd of thousands were flooding the internet. “Y’all the Walmart yodeling kid is performing at Coachella… mad respect to the king,” tweeted a fan from the music festival.

People have had many different reactions to young Ramsey’s talents. The majority of internet users have expressed their support and love of the yodeling kid, but a few feel as if his talents have been exaggerated or that his voice is more annoying than anything. In the weeks since the video went viral, however, Ramsey has learned that fame has its peaks – and its valleys. After his whirlwind of performances, the boy has become somewhat of a forgotten meme. Perhaps he is destined to fall back into the shadows as more entertaining content is released in his wake. Yet another victim of fleeting Internet fame!